More than 3,000 Kentucky students will participate in KBF School Days and the KBF Master Class as a part of Kentucky Humanities’ 2019 Kentucky Book Festival. Generous support from our partners — the Face It® Movement, the Raymond B. Preston Foundation, the Elsa Heisel Sule Foundation, and the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels — will allow each student who participates in the author visits to receive a signed copy of the author’s book.

KBF School Days features eight popular children’s and young adult authors — Brooks Benjamin, Olivia A. Cole, Amanda Driscoll, Will Hillenbrand, Sherry Howard, Corabel Shofner, Kristin O’Donnell Tubb, and Susan Vaught —traveling to rural elementary and middle schools throughout the Commonwealth to visit with students and get them excited about reading and writing.

Classrooms were selected through an application process, with priority given to schools that met the following criteria:

• Population of town is less than 15,000

• School free/reduced lunch rate exceeds 60%

• No flagship university in your community

Authors will work with students through interactive activities, including live-drawing and presentations, about writing, reading, illustrating, and getting published.

“Outreach to Kentucky schools is such an important part of the Kentucky Book Festival,” said Kentucky Humanities Executive Director Bill Goodman. “Giving Kentucky students an opportunity to interact with authors and to encourage their love of reading and writing will have positive effects on them that last long after their encounter. We are thankful to our partners who recognize the importance of exposing Kentucky’s youth to the world of books for joining us in this important endeavor.”

The 2019 KBF Master Class for high school students features New York Times bestselling author/illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka. First published at the age of 23, Krosoczka has now published more than 30 books, including the popular Lunch Lady series. He is a two-time winner of the Children’s Choice Book Awards Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year and has been a finalist for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award. He has delivered two TED Talks, which have been viewed more than 2 million times.

Kentucky Humanities has partnered with The Face It® Movement, the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, and author Jarrett J. Krosoczka to present this Master Class for high school students. Hey, Kiddo, is Jarrett’s first graphic memoir for young adults and is about his childhood and teen years, a period of time in which art became a lifeline and a way to process his mother’s battles with addiction and the absence of his birthfather. Students will get a first-hand look at how Krosoczka created this deeply heartfelt memoir. A dramatic reading from the book will be paired with the behind-the-scenes look of how it all came together. Krosoczka will visit Breathitt County High School and Jackson Independent School on Friday, November 15th.